MINAMAS DOES ITS PART FOR SUSTAINABILITY
Sime Plantation subsidiary creates guidelines for fire prevention programme
SIME Darby Plantation Bhd’s (Sime Plantation) Indonesian subsidiary, Minamas Plantation, has developed guidelines to run the Sustainable Community-based Fire Prevention programme.
The oil palm plantation company said implementing the programme had proven to be challenging due to movement restrictions and social distancing rules as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Sime Plantation said this had triggered the urgency for Minamas and its university partner, Universitas Tanjungpura, to work on developing the guidelines.
Minamas had been implementing the programme in fire-prone villages surrounding its operations since 2014.
Minamas said it had planned to roll out the programme in West Kalimantan in the middle of this month once the guidelines were finalised and it had received feedback from stakeholders.
During a recent virtual forum, stakeholders in the palm oil industry, including West Kalimantan governor Sutarmidji, Gabungan Pengusaha Kelapa Sawit Indonesia, the Meteorological and Geophysical Department of Jakarta, academicians of Universitas Tanjungpura and plantation companies, discussed and provided feedback on the guidelines.
Sime Plantation hoped the guidelines would help other companies run their own community-based fire prevention programmes while safeguarding their workers from Covid-19.
Minamas chief executive officer Shamsuddin Muhammad said the company needed to remain steadfast in finding ways to work together with its stakeholders, especially local communities, to prevent fires and reduce the number of hotspots in the region.
“While our governments and healthcare providers focus on stemming the Covid-19 pandemic, we must not take our eyes off other health and environmental threats, including haze.
“This is a complex problem which needs to be tackled through the efforts of stakeholders.
“As a player in the palm oil industry, we want to be part of the solution to this annual issue, but we cannot do it alone.”
Minimas’ collaboration with stakeholders would not only see them monitor fires but also adopt zero-burning practices in the fight against the haze.
Minamas has collaborated with Indonesian university experts, who would spend at least six months living in villages near its operations to raise awareness of the importance of environmental protection and sustainable agricultural practices.
This includes educating villagers to stop open burning and finding sustainable alternatives to generate income.
“Our partnership with Universitas Tanjungpura for this year’s programme in West Kalimantan is a milestone in our zero-burning initiative.
“We look forward to working with the academicians to strengthen our fire prevention preparedness and collaboration with the local communities to fight the haze in the face of the challenging restrictions posed by the virus,” said Shamsuddin.
To date, Minamas’ programme has covered more than 60,000 beneficiaries in 29 villages, or about 161,000ha of land surrounding the company’s 11 subsidiaries, in Sumatra and Kalimantan.
Minamas aims to enhance the programme by including rewards to boost the involvement of local communities as well as the fire response rate of the villages.